Glowing Embers
by Pegataur Cat
Summary: Aryenna has something different about her (no duh!) Harry Potter wasn' the only one who was cursed by Voldemort, and now it's going to take twice as much power to defeat Voldie. Thankfully, Aryenna and her crowd can help...but will they? Or do they bow be


**Disclaimer: only those you don't recognize are mine…duh! The idea of her flaming hand was inspired by the author of Avada Flammaram (sp?) – read hers too!**

It would be a lie to say that the Potters were the only ones attacked that fateful night. It would be a lie to say that the famous Harry Potter was the only living evidence that Voldemort had intended to kill and was unable. It would be a lie to say that those who suffered at Voldemort's hands had either been tortured or killed. It would be a lie…

_"ARYENNA!" a voice screamed as a fireball shot through the air. Aryenna, 15 years old, woke up from her trance with a growl. It wasn't _her_ fault that her hand got too excited. Then again, maybe it was. Things were always her fault at the Hunningtons' house._

The teenager looked up as Margie and Eugenia glared at her. After being thrown from foster home to foster home, she had perfected a look of ice. She put that on for her 'sisters' to see that she wasn't in the mood for screaming. She never was, anyways.

"Oh, honestly, you _know_ the rules! No taking out your hand until you're five blocks away! Just because _you're cursed with an 'ever-flaming left hand' doesn't mean that __we have to see it! Honestly!" __Well honestly__ I don't give a damn! Aryenna fumed._

"Don't worry, Eu-dork-a, 'cause I'm leaving soon anyways!" She loved her name for Eugenia. It was fun to see her squirm at the 'horror' of the 'childish trick'. "Oh, and by the way Margie, Brad called. He said that he's considering breaking up with you." Aryenna grinned maliciously as Margie screamed. Brad had _not called, but it was fun to see how many colors Margie's face turned before she remembered that he was at the park and had told her that he wouldn't be able to call until tomorrow. Apparently she'd forgotten._

Picking up the last of her bags, Aryenna slipped out the door and walked to the Jansen house. The Jansen house was the 'headquarters' for the Fearsome Foursome, as they were called. Tallie took the opportunity to jump onto Aryenna's shoulder. _Silly cat, Aryenna vaguely thought, but allowed her tabby friend to join her. The American Shorthair had been a present on her 14th birthday._

_Knock, knock-knock, knock, knock…knock! She rapped the 'password' rhythm on the door. Myra opened it, grinned at Aryenna, then bounced back to her seat. Looking around, she spotted Vikki and Fyrah looking over a piece of paper. "Guess what? Bryn's here!"_

They called her Bryn because of the curse Voldemort gave to her left hand when she was one. He had cursed it to burn forever, though the flames never hurt _her. Fyrah, who was named for her fiery hair, had wanted to call her Byrn, but had written it wrong, and the new name stuck. It was also a lot easier to say for them than Aryenna, though they liked that name too._

Vikki, Fyrah, Myra and Aryenna had been friends since her thirteenth birthday, the day she moved to SF, and the Hunningtons. They had been able to understand her ever-cool expression, and Vikki had shared her true life with Aryenna, something that was very rare. Vikki had had a tough life full of drugs, alcohol, prison, rape, murders, and beatings, and she'd been put in a foster home with Fyrah and Myra, adoptive sisters, to get away from it before it 'corrupted' her. But the 'damage' had been done long before anyone started to notice. Vikki was hard, cool, and tough, and no one messed with her unless they had a death wish. Or if they were Aryenna, Fyrah, Myra, Mr. Jansen or Mrs. Jansen, the elderly couple who's dream was to raise the kids deemed incorrigible into acceptable adults. So far, they held the record of 'breaking in' eight 'hopeless cases', Myra, Fyrah and Vikki included. Aryenna would have gone there as well, but Mrs. Hunnington had heard about the money they'd get and fought for her.

Vikki was 5'8" and had brown eyes and brown hair with red streaks in front. She was sometimes called Red by kids at their school. She played Beater, and could use just about any weapon she could think of (which was a lot) including her fists. Vikki had taught the gang self defense until they knew as much as she (or almost as much). Her favorite subject was anything physical. Vikki's temper blew up fast and hard, and she was notorious for getting in trouble. But they school had noticed a huge difference in the Vikki that first came and the Vikki now, so they let her get away with many things. Her raven, Soot, had the same sharp temper she did and only let the people close to Vikki handle him.

Fyrah was 5'7" and had wavy red hair and green eyes (which was also her favorite color). She was called Sunshine for her hair and cheery disposition. Years ago, she had gone into a depression because of her father's death, who had been her only living relative, but now in a new environment she was better. She still had moments where she'd stare into space for a long time, or look at the scars on her wrist – the evidence of her attempts at suicide – but the gang kept her light mood going as much as they could. Her temper was slow to start, but if she saw her friends in harm she'd fight like a wildcat. She liked Charms class, was on the Debate Team, and played Chaser. Her guinea pig, Trapper, liked to hide himself in her pockets and once almost went into the wash because he fell asleep.

Myra was 5'5" with curly dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was called Bubbles (she _adored the Power Puff girls, something she was teased mercilessly about). Myra played Chaser, but preferred reading mysteries. She could be quiet in large groups, but she was outgoing with the other three. After being neglected for five years, she basked in the love that was given so freely among her 'parents' and friends. Her favorite subject was Transfiguration. Rocky, her toad, was like Trapper but refused to sit still so that Myra ended up giggling in class a lot._

Aryenna stood at 5'9". Her caramel-brown hair went past her waist and her odd amber eyes rarely showed emotion. She had learned the hard way not to expect acceptance with her hand, which she always covered in public by a black leather glove. Some people called her Wolf because of her looks and her odd ability to see in the dark, though Myra was better at it. Aryenna played Keeper, and liked DADA, not to mention she was one of the best in her class. She also played muggle volleyball and went horseback riding on the weekends with her friends. Her cat, Tallulah (Tallie), often slipped into her saddlebag and poked her head out to watch the scenery.

Their school, Magic Academy of California, or MAC **(A/N: no, not the make-up store…hehe)**, was a small school - only two hundred kids – and therefore they knew almost everyone. However, the four would soon be transferring to Europe's Hogwarts because the teachers believed that Dumbledore might 'understand her better', and the other three refused to let her go without leaving themselves.

Currently they were working on making a letter that would look like Brad wrote it and would go to him if it was traced, but would truly be from the Four. They wanted to get back at Margie for allowing Aryenna's secret about her hand 'slip' to the worst gossipers in the school. Hopefully Hogwarts would be better.

"Bryn, c'm'ere! Look what I've got!" Myra grinned excitedly. She was holding an owl with four letters with the Hogwarts seal.

"Well, open it!" Aryenna commanded. Myra did, and laughed when she realized it was the requirement list.

"So, when are we leaving again?" Fyrah asked.

"Ten days." Aryenna answered readily.

Vikki raised her eyebrows. "Haven't been counting, have you?"

Aryenna gave her a Look. "You'd be counting if _you_ had to live with them!" Vikki laughed and nodded. The gang was always loose when alone.

"So, did you hear of Margie and Brad's future horrible break-up?" Fyrah asked innocently.

Aryenna laughed. "No, but we will! Finished?" Fyrah nodded. "Now, where's Brad's owl?"

Vikki held up a tawny owl. "Here he is."

"Great! Tie it on…and we're ready to roll!" They threw the owl out the window and watched it soar over to the Hunnington house.

Myra giggled. "Oh, I can't wait to see Margie's face when she gets it!"

~~~~~~~

Margie's face _had been a sight to see – especially when Brad's friend had told her that he'd been looking at Emily Sondrez – who __was a beauty. Instead of Margie's bony figure and stuffy face, Emily had a well-built figure and a sweet face. Personally, Aryenna felt that Emily might be too good for him, but that wasn't her business. The 'break-up' had made Margie unpopular, and Aryenna started sleeping over at the Jansen house to avoid her temper-tantrums. Even Margie's mother was getting annoyed with them._

The leaving day came too soon for the Four, but they were excited to see England. They would be taking an airplane to get to London, then would have two days on their own to get used to England before leaving for Hogwarts. Mrs. Jansen would be taking them as Mr. Jansen had to go to Brazil for a business meeting.

The plane trip was uneventful – they spent their time reading the assigned books. London was cool too – luckily Mrs. Jansen had lived in London for a year and remembered the money system. After two days, the elderly woman walked them to the station. Smiling, she said her goodbyes and left. The Four only then realized that they had no idea how to get to the platform.

Wandering near platforms nine and ten, they kept lookout for any owls. By ten they were ready to give up when they heard, "And packed with muggles, as always!" Grinning, they found the speaker – a plump red-headed women with four red-headed children and two dark-haired kids. **(A/N: Guess who?)**

"Excuse me?" Myra asked politely. "Are you going to Hogwarts? We can't find the platform."

The woman laughed. "Yes, that tends to be a trouble every year! The way to get on is to walk straight through that barrier. Helps to do it at a bit of a run, if you know what I mean." Myra laughed.

"Yeah, thanks! I'm Myra Jansen, that's Fyrah Jansen, Vikki Jansen, and Aryenna-"

"Atrekson. Pleased to meet you." Aryenna interrupted Myra, not wanting to use the name of her adoptive family. The woman looked at her curiously, eyes flitting to her gloved hand before welcoming her as warmly as the others.

"I'm Molly Weasley, this is Fred, George, Ron, Ginny (they're my children), Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." The girls nodded to each of them. They'd heard of Harry Potter – who hadn't – but they also came from a school where there where many children of impressive parentage, and knew not to judge him before seeing his own abilities firsthand. Harry looked glad when they didn't fuss about him, and Aryenna understood completely.

"What happened to your hand?" Fred, or was it George, asked.

The Four stiffened, and Vikki shot back, "What happened to Harry's forehead?" The boy, noticing the sharp tone, quickly apologized and offered Fyrah a toffee. Fyrah smiled, and offered a 'lemon drop' in return. Only it wasn't a lemon drop but a candy that tasted like urine. Fyrah pretended to pop the toffee in her mouth as the boy did the same, but didn't and laughed as he spit out. The twins immediately looked at the Four with respect, while the other kids laughed.

"Well, boys, it looks like you've meet your match!" Ginny giggled.

Fyrah grinned proudly. "You'd better shape up if you want to match _us_! It was obvious from your face that it was a trick. You've got to act generous, not innocent. Innocent meanly you're up to something – generous means you're nice. It's a hook, line, and sinker, honestly!" The other three could tell from her coy look that she'd fallen for the boy.

"George, we really ought to join up with them!" he said. So it was Fred. Fred and Fyrah.

"I wonder if they'll name their kids with names starting with F as well." Aryenna muttered. Fyrah heard.

"What do you mean, 'our kids'? Are you suggesting-"

"You bet." Vikki smirked. Both Fyrah and Fred turned red as the entire gang snickered. They quickly went through the barrier. The others followed.

Harry, Ron and Hermione went for their own cabin and Ginny left for her friends. Fred insisted that Fyrah meet their friend Jordan, and Myra tagged along – they were the ones who enjoyed random pranking while Aryenna and Vikki preferred it for revenge. Left out, the two girls tried to find an empty cabin. The first one they came to had a pale blonde and two fat idiots. The blonde stood up, giving them once-overs.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, and that's Crabbe and Goyle. What are your names?"

"I'm Vikki, and that's Aryenna. We're looking for an _empty_ cabin." Vikki hated stuck-ups, and this boy was screaming one. As they tried to leave, Draco grabbed Aryenna's hand. Unfortunately, it was her left.

"Why do you have a glove? Take it off." he ordered.

Aryenna stiffened. "That's none of your business. Let go of me, or you'll regret it!" she hissed.

Draco smirked. "You're so pretty when you get flustered." He was expecting her to melt into his arms, as his charm _was_ irresistible (in his eyes, at least). What he was not expecting was her knee to his groin. Groaning, he let her go and sank to the ground. The two beauties left angrily.

"Excuse me!" Aryenna all but shouted as she ran into another male. This one was none other than Harry. "Oh, Harry, sorry. We just had a run-in with Malfoy."

The girls could tell that this said a lot for the situation. Ron growled. "He didn't do anything, did he?"

Vikki smirked. "Nothing worse than what we did to him." The five got a laugh at that.

The group settled down for the train ride, slowly getting to know each other.

**Please R/R and tell me whether this is worth continuing as I have trouble keeping to one story. If you like it, you won't get more unless you review and tell me. Also, I am young, and still trying to develop my writing skills, so tell me what I can improve.**


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